


Found Out

by jellyfizzLe



Series: Black Dragons [1]
Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: DRAGON ALLMATE, My OC - Freeform, OOCish, Violence, noiz is still a neon sign, others if i remember
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-06-02 05:33:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6552976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jellyfizzLe/pseuds/jellyfizzLe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four years after Over Tower went down, a box was sent to Lucy Kitsune, the female leader of a Ribsteez gang called Black Dragon. What happens is unexpected by everyone but Mink.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapters 1-7

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I'm a dick, I know, but this is chapters 1-7. Enjoy~

1  
"Aw, come on, don't be a bitch. One go." a male with black hair, maybe 19 or 20, had a woman trapped against a wall deep in an alley. He ran a hand through her blonde hair, then gripped it and made her look at him. "I'll even pay ya."  
"S-Stop, I'm not a hooker!" she whimpered, and the male chuckled.  
"You're cute, but I bet you'd look more adorable with something in your-"  
"Oi, let her go."  
The male turned to look at the new addition, a female with spiky black hair and purple tips. He laughed, then sighed.  
"Look, another one. This one's yours, Jake." He looked at a redheaded male who had been watching the ravenhair's advanced amusedly.  
"Sweet." Jake walked towards the black haired female, his green eyes flashing. both males were wearing green jackets with a celtic knot on the back, black tees, and jeans."You look adorable, acting all tough." he cooed to the female, making her narrow her yellow, cat-slitted eyes.  
"Dumbass. Ya guys are fucking around on my turf and expect to get away with it?" she hissed. She was wearing a black leather jacket that fit her perfectly and was unzipped, a siler tanktop, black skinny jeans, and black combat boots with steel tips. She pulled her hands out of her pockets, straightening the black fingerless gloves she had on. They glittered unusually. "Let her go and get out of my sight, ya twits."  
"Last I checked this bit was ours, sweetheart." Jake snickered, moving to grab her shoulder.  
But she wasn't having that. She pulled back her fist, then punched Jake in the jaw- hard. He stumbled back, bumping against the wall. When he pulled his hand away from his cheek he saw blood all over his hand.  
"Daniel, she cut me." he said, freaked out.  
"You big baby, get her!" Daniel hissed, looking over his shoulder.  
"She didn't bring out a knife, dude, her gloves cut me!" Jake slowly tried inching around her, but she stepped in his way.  
"What's wrong? I've barely started." she cooed mockingly, then looked over her shoulder. "Boys!"  
3 muscular men came out of the shadows, cracking their knuckles and snickering. They all had black jackets and jeans on, and had shirts that matched their hair colors- blue, red, and black.  
The female sighed. "Seriously, ya guys look like kids when ya do the matching hair-shirt thing." she shook her head. "Triplets will be triplets. I need the girl; do what ya want to the boys, but ya know my rules and ya know your boundaries.  
"Okay, Lucy." the bluenette smirked, striding over to Daniel and pulling him off the blonde woman easily. He looked at her, then smiled. "Don't worry, we got this. Go with Lu, she'll take ya home."  
The woman nodded and hurried to Lucy's side, gripping her arm as they turned and began walking away.  
"U-U-Uhm, a-are you sure about trusting them?" the blonde asked hesitantly, and Lucy laughed.  
"Of course I trust them, they're my Dragons. They know exactly how far they're allowed to go." Lucy laughed again. "I don't worry too much. How old are ya, kid?'  
"um, 18..."  
"Ah, almost an adult, eh? How ya likin' it?" Lucy smiled at her and ignored the yell of pain from behind them as they approached the alley mouth. "Besides this incident, is it fun?"  
"Y-Yes, it is." the girl flinched at the sound. "W-Will they kill them?"  
"Oh, no, no, hun. My boys, they'll just teach those Knot jokes a lesson."  
"H-How old are y-you?'  
"Me? Hell, I'm 24. The triplets are 20."  
"Are they you're b-brothers?"  
"Nah, they're my gang members."  
The girl turned right with her. "W-What gang are you i-in?"  
"I'm the leader of Black Dragon, and those goonies hustling ya were Endless Knot." Lucy looked around. "Where do ya live, kid?"  
"On Maple Street..." the girl mumbled. "M-Maple and Central."  
"Oh, you're in my territory, cool." Lucy looked at her. "Are ya afraid of me and my boys?"  
"I-I've h-heard stories ab-bout you."  
"Hm. That's no good." Lucy ruffled her hair gently. "Stories aren't always true, kiddo. Remember that." she grinned and looked at the sky. "We aren't killers, we aren't rapists, and we don't sexually harrass anyone. Some of us are thieves, or play Ribsteez, or are hackers, but we don't pull the big guns."  
"R-Really? I-I heard that one of you was m-murdered because of a fight, and that the r-rest of you w-went and killed the m-murderer."  
"What's your name, kid?"  
"Me? I'm K-Katey,"  
"Katey. Cute name." Lucy thought for a moment. "That isn't true. None of my boys have ever gotten into big trouble like that. I dunno where ya heard that but they were very wrong."  
"Are you the only g-girl?"  
"Yup, I'm the only girl gang member in any gang that I know of, and I'm the leader, too. Crazy, huh?"  
"N-not really. G-Girls multitask and o-operate groups better than b-boys, so I-I'm surprised that you're the only g-girl."  
"Most of the leaders that I know are very well-organized and run their gangs smoothly. Most of them." Lucy turned a corner with Katey. "Endless Knot and Bug Bomb don't know how to control their boys very well, so I end up kicking their asses a lot. But I've gotten a lot of my boys from groups who didn't run them right. A lot of my boys were miserable in their gangs until I made Black Dragon 7 years ago."  
"So, you're, like... a g-gang savior?"  
Lucy looked at her, then laughed. "That's one way of putting it, I suppose." she stopped in front of a house. "This one's yours, right?"  
"Oh, y-yeah. T-Thanks for saving me back there..."  
"That's why my group exists, hun, to save people like ya." Lucy patted her shoulder. "Take care."  
"W-Wait..." Katey hugged her. "I'll find some way to repay you."  
"Ya don't gotta. I made my gang for people who need and want a family, and who want to protect others."  
"Y-Your gang isn't just for b-boys?"  
"Nope. It's open to anyone on my turf."  
"W-Why only on y-your t-turf?"  
"Because if I had members outside of my turf I'd end up losing control of my gang."  
"O-Oh..." Katey thought for a moment and stepped back. "C-Can I j-join?"  
"If you're willing to deal with my goofy family. That, and ya gotta learn to fight, to stop fights, and learn every inch of the turf. It's a large task."  
"I live alone and i have a two-day-a-week job."  
"Cool. If ya still wanna join tomorrow meet me by the abandoned ruins of the Over Tower."  
"Okay... Thanks again, L-Lucy." Katey bowed and went in her home, and Lucy waited until she heard the familiar click of a lock before leaving. She looked at the time on her purple data watch, then turned left to head home.  
Unknown to her, she was being watched. Noted. Recorded.  
2 * * *  
"Storm, I'm home!" Lucy called out when she got to her house, and a black dragon allmate came to greet her. A lot of it's scales were dark grey and worn, but the rest were shiny black and sleek.  
"Hello, Lucy." it greeted her, it's voice deep and rich. She picked it up, then snuggled it to her chest.  
"How's my little boy?" she purred, and Storm sighed.  
"Fine, thank you for asking. I got your tea kettle on the stove with water in it." Storm wiggled out of her grasp and dropped to the floor, then walked to the living room.  
Lucy watched him sadly, then went into the kitchen and turned off the heat, downed by his formal words and distant attitude. She left the barely-warmed water on the stove, then went upstairs to her room and changed into black basketball shorts and a black t-shirt. She didn't know that Storm had followed her until he spoke.  
"You are home later than usual." he said neutrally, making Lucy jump. "Did something happen?"  
"N-No, nothing's wrong, Storm." she said, sitting down and tinkering with a cat allmate.  
"That is not what I asked."  
"I gave ya an answer, Storm..." Lucy sighed, hooking the cat up to her computer and checking for bugs.  
"Lucy, you are my owner. I care for you're welfare."  
"Are ya kidding me? My welfare?" Lucy stop and turned so that she was facing him. "I fixed ya 7 years ago, got ya up and running, when no one else cared. Ya haven't made one attempt to act like a pet in those 6 years. You've acted more like a nanny, Storm, and I'm glad I have ya, but I wish you'd be more friendly towards me."  
"Friendly?" Storm sat down and cocked his head. "I thought I was."  
"No, what ya are doing is being formal. A lot of people by now would have put a pet program into your coding, but I'm not because I want ya to trust me because of how I've treated ya, not because of some stupid programming. I want ya to be more friendly, to talk to me like ya actually like me and not like ya tolerate me." Lucy turned to the computer again and started typing again, sighing. "I want ya to act like ya want to care, not like you're forced to care. Do you get it? Ya are an artificially intelligent allmate. Ya have choices that other allmates don't because I gave it to ya. I made ya chip an artificially adjustable and intelligent one because I wanted ya to...." she stopped typing and speaking.  
"To what?" Storm asked.  
"Never mind. I don't even know my reasons anymore. I'm just frustrated, and tired. I'll talk to you in the morning." she closed down the program she was in and unhooked the cat, then put it on her shelf and layed down on her bed.  
Storm hesitated, then turn off her lamp and curled up on her desk.  
"Good night, Lucy." he said softly, but she didn't respond because she was already asleep.  
3 * * *  
At 6 in the morning, Lucy was awoken by the sound of knocking on her front door.  
"Mmh..." she groaned, then sat up and yawned. "Coming!" she called tiredly, getting up to get dressed. She looked at her messy desk, then finally found a pair of matching, steel, purple spike piercings and put them in her snake bite piercings on her bottom lip. When the knocking became louder she sighed. "A minute!"  
She went down the stairs with a brush in her hand, brushing her hair back to it's usual spiky shape. She dropped the brush on the couch, then opened the door and looked at the large man there.  
He had a black shirt, jeans, and a brown trenchcoat that faded red at the bottom and the right arm cut off. He had long brown hair drawn back in a ponytail with a pink feather under the hairband, a pink headband that went across his forehead, deep blue eyes, and tanned skin. A pink parrot with a cigar rested on his shoulder, and when she raised her eyebrow he took a drag off of his pipe.  
"Uhm, can i help ya?" Lucy asked, resting a hand on her hip. She didnt have her gloves on, so surgery scars showed on the backs of her hands and her wrists.  
"Are you Lucy Kitsune, the younger of the sisters?" he asked, ignoring her question. He blew smoke in her face, and she turned away to cough.  
"What's your business?" she growled, glaring at him. "State it, now."  
"Fine." he put his pipe in his breast pocket, then punched upwards just between the bottom of her ribs, hard.  
Lucy choked, unable to breath, and collapsed on her knees. What he said next was too muffled for her to hear, and she slid sideways and hit the doorframe, passing out.  
4 * * *  
Lucy slowly opened her eyes, immediately noting that she was laying on her back somewhere cold and hard. Her arms were tied behind her back, her forearms bound together hard with what she thought was rope, maybe leather. She twisted onto her side, then groaned in pain.  
"Ow, fuck..." she mumbled, looking around at the gang of boys that surrounded her. "Goddamn all of ya to the deepest pit in hell..." she spotted the man who punched her, then glared at him. "Especially ya, bastard."  
"..." he stayed silent and stared at her as he took a slow, deliberate drag from his pipe.  
"Where am I, anyways?" she struggled to sit up, but a kick to her stomach made her choke and curl up.  
"Stay down, bitch." a blonde male smirked at her, then knelt down to grip her hair. "Heh, I'd do worse than kick you if it was up to me."  
Lucy glared at him, then quickly twisted to knee him in the crotch hard.  
"Don't touch me." she growled softly, watching him curl up in pain. "That's just a glimpse of what happens when ya do."  
He jerked his head to look at her, then punched her head. It bounced off of the concrete floor and she saw stars, then he punched her in the stomach and she felt bile rise in her throat.  
"Nnh..." she groaned, shivering in pain and nausea. The blond snickered.  
"Not so high and mighty now, are you, punk?" he yanked her up a little by her hair, then smirked. "I wish i could hit your pretty little face again, you make the cutest sounds of pain."  
"Go fuck yourself." she spat weakly.  
"Boss, what should we do?" he looked at the male with the bird on his shoulder.  
"Teach her." he said, sounding bored.  
Lucy was yanked to her feet by her bound arms, and the blond put his face close to hers.  
"What will your precious Dragons do without their leader?" he mocked her, and she spit blood in his face. "Ugh, gross." he glared at her.  
"They know how to operate without me. Every kid moves on from their mother's death." she smirked at his furious expression, then cried out when he punched her in the ribs.  
"You're pissing me off." he growled in her ear, then got her in the face. She grinned at him, her lip split and bleeding  
"Oh, I'm so terrible." she pouted mockingly, licking the wound. "Boo-hoo, bad dragon."  
By then, she had gotten used to the pain, so when he punched her she used the advantage and kneed him in the crotch harder then last time. He went down hard, and she laughed.  
"What's wrong, done already?" she taunted him, then spit on him. "Get up, ya pansy!"  
The others seemed unsure of her, but a redhead approached and looked at her closely. Her eyes flashed and she growled, and he jerked back in surprise.  
"Come on. Bring it." Lucy challenged him, jerking forward. "Or are ya afraid of a girl who can defend herself?"  
"Boss, she can't feel pain now." the redhead said  
"Hm." he stood and approached her, then leaned down a little so he was at eye level with her. "Defensive mechanism. She'll pass out soon from overexertion. Keep teaching her until then."  
"Teach me?" Lucy laughed hard."Are ya kidding me?! Your boys are more cautious than that, I'm sure! I'll knee them, too! And ya aren't teaching me a damned thing! All you're doing is sharpening my tongue!" she snarled mockingly, glaring at him. He looked at her dangerously, and she stared back just as dangerously. He reached forward and pressed a point on her neck, making her go limp and pass out.  
"Take her to an extra room and untie her arms. Take her dragon, too, but don't turn him on."  
"Yes, sir." the redhead took her from the males who were holding her and carried her princess style out of the gang's main part of the lair. Another male dropped Storm on her belly as they passed him.  
5 * * *  
It could have been seconds or years, but eventually Lucy came back around. She was in a room made of concrete, save for the wooden door, and she was laying on an uncomfortable bed. She groaned, not even bothering to try and sit up because she could feel the swelling from the blond bouncing her head off of the concrete  
"Up?" the door opened and the trenchcoated male came in with the blond. She growled weakly, and the blond looked away. Trenchcoat noticed this and looked at her. "You know how to make people respect and fear you.  
"I'll murder ya the first chance I get, I swear to God..." she winced and groaned as her head throbbed hard. "Ow, fuck ya all..."  
"You could have prevented fifty percent of your head injuries."  
"And ya can go fuck yourself with a baseball bat." Lucy shot back, opening one eye to glare at him weakly.  
"Do you wanna get out of here or not?" Trenchcoat asked, taking a suck off his pipe.  
"I don't have anything the likes of ya would want."  
He strode over and tugged her to her feet by the front of her coat. "You let Rhyme fights happen on your turf."  
"What's it to ya?" Lucy snarled quietly, her eyes closed to prevent a bigger migraine from forming.  
"I want you to monitor them and send me the tapes."  
"And if I refuse?"  
"I'll end you."  
"Heh. I'm five steps ahead of ya, dickwad. I already monitor them. And so what if I die? My Dragons are pretty much self-governed. Don't pin hope on a flimsy threat like that." Lucy smirked, her eyes still closed.  
He thought for a moment, then dropped her on the bed. "All I need are the tapes."  
"I might have been a little more cooperative before ya kidnapped me and beat the shit out of me, ass."  
"Hm. Well, if you don't cooperate I'll kill your sister."  
Lucy looked at him, then layed on her back carefully and covered her eyes with her arm. He thought he had her until she began laughing. He whipped around to face her, and saw that she was laughing with tears running down her face.  
"Ya can't pin hope on a flimsy threat like that, either." she said softly. "Stormy is already dead."  
He stared at her. "Dead?"  
"Wow, you're stupid and deaf." she sat up. "My sister has been dead for 4 years. She was murdered!" she stood up shakily and picked up Storm, then clenched her fist when her head throbbed. "Take me home now."  
"Give me the tapes if I take you back."  
"If ya want them ya had better give me a few brand new packs of empty CDs, because I've been monitoring these Rhymeheads since I found them a year and a half ago." Lucy glared at him. "What's your name?"  
He regarded her coolly before answering. "Mink."  
"Well, Mink, next time ya wanna strike a deal with somebody, ask them before kidnapping them and beating the shit out of them!" she growled, stalking out to the hallway. "Somebody had better lead me outta here before I break some bones!"  
The redhead that had approached her before walked up. "Do you think you should be talking like that in the middle of enemy territory?"  
"Do ya think you should be kidnapping and beating me up over something as stupid as a few tapes?" Lucy shot back, pissed.  
"Touche. All right, Lucy Kitsune, follow me. My name's Akio."  
"Call me by my last name again and I'll knock ya flat, kid." she growled as she followed him, and Mink followed them quietly  
"Call me kid and I'll have the boss drive you home alone."  
"Fuck ya all." Lucy muttered, and Akio laughed.  
"Aren't you the whore."  
"I bet I've screwed more girls than ya have." Lucy muttered sarcastically.  
"Ooh, is that supposed to hurt me?" Akio shot back.  
Mink quietly watched them bicker and throw insults at each other like children.  
"Have ya even had your first kiss?" Lucy asked Akio.  
"Yes." he answered defiantely  
"Your mom doesn't count, by the way." she informed him.  
"No, but your mom does." he smirked.  
"Good. I thought you were innocent for a second there." she smirked, and Akio shook his head.  
"Wow. You really did hit your head hard."  
"Now that you guys are done, can we leave?" Mink asked, and Akio nodded and opened a door that lead to the garage.  
"Burn in hell. My head is fine." Lucy muttered, looking at the black car that they were approaching.  
"Whatever." Akio chuckled and opened the door for Lucy while Mink went around and got in the front on the passenger side. Lucy looked at him before getting in, raising an eyebrow when she saw that the backseat was unusually spacious.  
"Uh..." Lucy got in and accepted two pills that Akio offered her. "Uhm, thanks..?"  
"There's wine in the cooler." he gestured to a cooler secured on the ground before closing the door and getting in the front.  
Lucy stared at the pills, then opened the cooler and found two bottles of her favorite wine in it. "How..?" she mumbled, taking one out and opening it with no problems since it was a twisty lid. "Freaking kids did research on me..." she looked around for a cup and found a plastic one. she poured a little in the cup, then resecured the lid and put it back. She looked at the pills, then shrugged and downed them with the wine. "I'll probably die, but whatever..."  
A few minutes later, she felt drowsy, so she layed on her side and fell asleep. Mink looked back at her, then sighed.  
"You gave her sleeping pills and wine?"  
"Nikki kicked her ass, she needs some rest." Akio defended himself, frowning. "You let that psycho loose on her, knowing that he would probably kill her. He has no restraint."  
"He does now, no one's ever attacked him like that, then taunted him to top it off. She knows how to discipline bad kids."  
"But as far as we know she hasn't done that to any of her own."  
"Not any of her own, but she was in Dry Juice for 2 years. Joined when she was 16. When she was 17 one of the cockier guys tried to make an advance on her no-mark sister. She didn't like that and kicked his ass hard. She scares the gangs around her turf."  
"Except for you." Akio corrected him, looking around. "So where am I going?"  
"Over Tower." Mink took a drag and blew out reddish-grey smoke, then put his pipe away. "She doesn't have an enlisted address."  
"Noiz couldn't even figure it out?"  
"No, he got in, she just doesn't have an address listed under her name. Tori found out where she lives, though, by following her."  
"What about the older sister?"  
"Her records were completely wiped three and a half years ago, and no one can get them back, not even Noiz."  
"Wow, someone really didn't want them found."  
"And I'm gonna find out who."  
Eventually they got to the tower, and a girl was standing there, looking like she was waiting for someone. She had blonde hair, and was wearing jeans and a navy blue t-shirt. When she saw them she jumped a little, but stayed where she was.  
Akio got out and approached her, leaving Mink to wake up Lucy  
"Oi, kid." he shook her shoulder a little, then noticed the swollen, purplish-black lump on the side of her head. "Nikki really did a number on you." he shook his head and picked her up with one arm, and the cooler with the other. "I've told him to stop bouncing people's heads off the ground..."  
When the girl saw Lucy she ran over and looked at her worriedly. "L-Lucy!" she saw the bump and looked at Mink. "W-What's wrong w-with h-her?"  
Mink stared at the blonde. "She got her head bounced off a floor."  
"W-What?! W-We have to t-take her to a h-hospital!" she moved Lucy's hair to look at the bump better. "T-That could cause b-brain d-damage, based on s-size and color..."  
Mink looked at Lucy, then looked at 3 males that had approached.  
"Oi, what did you do to our leader?" the bluenette asked, taking Lucy from Mink.  
"Akio, we're leaving." Mink turned around and walked to the car, then looked at the cooler in his hand. "Oi, redhead." he turned and tossed the cooler to the redheaded male, who caught it. "This is for your leader. She put one of my rowdiest boys in his place; I'm impressed."  
The blackhaired male walked over to him and sized him up. "Scratch, right? A few of yours aggravated Lucy a month back- next time, I won't stop her from killing them."  
Akio cringed, but Mink just nodded. "Good." he got in the car. "Come on, Akio, we are leaving."  
"R-Right." Akio got in and started the car, then drove off with Mink.  
"You stopped L-Lucy from k-killing someone?" Katey asked, and the males all looked at her.  
"Lock, isn't this the girl we saved the day before yesterday?" the redhead asked.  
The bluenette, Lock, nodded. "Yeah."  
Katey frowned a bit. "W-What are your n-names?"  
"I'm Lock." Lock gestured to the redhead, then the ravenhaired male. "That's Shock, and Barrel"  
Katey blinked, then laughed softly. "F-From 'The N-Nightmare Before Christmas', am I r-right?"  
"Yup." Barrel nodded. "What's your name?"  
"I'm K-Katey." she smiled. "L-Lucy was gonna meet me here yesterday, b-but I f-figured that she'd just forgot and came h-here t-today again."  
"Ah. Lemme guess, new recruit?" Shock asked, and Katey nodded. "Well, we are Lock, Shock, and Barrel, the triplets of Black Dragon."  
"I wanna j-join Black Dragon."  
"Yay, another girl!" Barrel cheered, then looked at Lucy. "We should take her home."  
"I will." Lock said, then looked at the other two. "Show Katey around, I'll meet you guys here in 2 hours, at noon, okay?"  
"Alright. Let's go, newbie, you gotta know the territory if you don't wanna accidentally start any fights." Barrel led the way, and Katey and Shock followed him.  
Lock headed towards Lucy's house, which was almost smack dab in the center of the territory. When he got there he searched her pockets for keys, finding them and unlocking her door. He set her on the couch, then started tea, humming softly as he did and thinking about how Lucy had found them.  
"Rei, shh, shh," That had been Lock's old name. Barrel, previously Taji, was trying to make him calm down. The triplets had gotten in a fight, and Rei, the smallest, had gotten seriously hurt and couldn't quiet down.  
"Taji, come on, those guys are looking for us." Shock hissed.  
"I'm trying, Kade, but they broke his ribs!" Barrel snapped, examining the bruising.  
"Ya guys need help?"  
They all turned to the girl that they hadn't noticed before she spoke. She was obviously older than them by a few years. She had long black hair with purple streaks, a silver tee, and jeans on. The triplets, only 14, were wary of her.  
"Who are you?" Barrel asked cautiously, wiping his soaking black bangs out of his eyes. It was raining, hard, and the dark alley they had hidden in was preventing their attackers from finding them.  
"I'm Lucy." she knelt beside Lock and looked at the damage. "It's mostly bruising, but you've got one broken rib. Come on, I'll take ya to my place and fix you guys up." she regarded their showing bones and pale skin carefully. "And some food could do ya some good, too. Come on." she stood and helped Lock up, then turned and knelt on one knee. "Up ya go."  
"Why should we trust you?" Shock asked her defiantly.  
"It's either trust me or let those Endless Knot freaks kill ya." she said bluntly, and Lock practically collapsed on her. "Now let's go, my boys will handle them." she stood and hooked her arms under Lock's legs, then began walking out of the alley. The other two had no choice but to follow her.  
Lock shook his head and laughed at the memory. "Shock and Barrel used to hate her, and now we all trust her with our lives... We've changed..." he sighed and poured the tea into 2 cups, thinking about how different Lucy looked as well as how much her attitude changed after Stormy died. "All of us have..."  
6 * * *  
"Nnh..." Lock heard Lucy groan from the living room and smiled softly.  
"Tea's ready." he walked out and sat beside her, setting her tea on the coffee table in front of her. She sat up, then nodded and leaned against him as she picked up the cup and sipped from it.  
"Thanks..." she mumbled, touching the lump on the side of her head gingerly.  
"How ya feelin'?" Lock asked, looking at her worriedly. "Looks like you got hit hard."  
"I got my head bounced off a concrete floor by some blond punk who didn't like me for some reason." she laughed a little, and he knew there was more to the story.  
"Lucy." he waited until she glanced at him. "Why were you gone so long?"  
"Well, how long was I gone?"  
"Two days." Lock looked at her carefully. "So, why did the blond really bounce your head off a floor?"  
"I kneed him after he kicked me." Lucy sat up and stretched, sighing. "Then I was held while he used me as a punching bag. But ya know me, I taunted him, went numb, then kneed him again, harder."  
"Jesus, are you okay?"  
"Worse has happened, Lock."  
"Really?" Lock asked, surprised. "When?"  
"Oh yea, ya don't know this story, do ya? Well, before I joined even Dry Juice, I was hit by a car going 80 an hour."  
"What?!"  
"Yeah. I was twelve, but it shattered my whole spine and both my forearms and hands." she pulled up her jacket sleeves to show him the scars. "That's where I got these. Docs had to replace my bones with metal bone substitutes."  
"I'm surprised you survived."  
"Me, too. I shouldn't even be alive, but here I am, healthy as a damned horse."  
"You are about as healthy as a dead horse."  
"Ya asshole!" Lucy exclaimed, laughing a bit before cringing. "Ow, don't make me laugh, it hurts.."  
"Sorry, sis." Lock hugged her a bit. "The tea will help, it's full of stuff that makes people healthy."  
"So, like, meat and stuff?" Lucy joked, smiling.  
"Human flesh."  
"I always knew ya were a cannibal."  
"Totally." Lock rolled his eyes, then sat back. "Hey, remember when me, Shock and Barrel were Rei, Kade and Taji?"  
"Of course I do. Shock and Barrel acted like I was the bane of their existance." Lucy looked in her cup. "They warmed up to me a few months after I took ya in."  
"Yeah. You changed after Stormy died, though. A lot."  
"I cut my hair, dyed it differently, changed my clothes a little, became colder and more distant towards other gangs..."  
"Your eyes changed, too."  
"From brown to yellow."  
"Mhm..." Lock rubbed her back. "Sorry if I'm making you sad."  
"Ya didn't, don't worry." Lucy assured him, standing up. "Ugh, I'm exhausted."  
"Noooope, you're going to stay awake all day, otherwise you'll fuck up your sleep cycle."  
"Alright, genius, where do ya wanna go?"  
"I'm meeting the others at noon. I stopped by a place about an hour from here that you might like, though. It's called Junk Shop Mediocrity. It's full of knick knacks and shit, but I only went there because they were the only ones who had s-type parts for Andy."  
"Ya could have asked me to fix him, I woulda done it." she smiled. "Are Andy, Mongrel and Jackie doing okay? The parts I replaced them with worked well?"  
"Yeah." Lock thought for a moment. "I think you should power up Minni again."  
7 * * *  
"I think you should power up Minni again."  
Lucy tensed up at the name of Stormy's allmate. "Why?"  
"Lu, it isn't her fault that Stormy died. don't take out on her."  
"I just.... don't want her asking about Stormy."  
"Then let me tell her that Stormy died."  
"Lock..." she looked down. "She's a naive allmate. That's how she was made. If we tell her..."  
"She has a reset button."  
"You're just as bad as Storm."  
"Lemme guess, he questioned why you still had her instead of just resetting her and selling her."  
"Yeah."  
"Just start her up. For me, please."  
Lucy hesitated, then stood up and went upstairs for a few minutes. She came back down, holding a russet-furred allmate with white markings.  
"You start her up." she said, handing the allmate to him.  
"Alright." he put the mouse on the coffee table, then pressed the power button. The mouse immediately powered up, dinging out a cheerful chime before it's eyes lit up.  
"Minni mouse allmate!" she chirped, then looked around. "Hello, Lucy, hello, Lock!"  
"Hey, Minni." Lock smiled at her, and she flicked her large ears in response. "How do you feel?"  
"I have been shut down for approximately one month. How are you, Lucy? It has been a long time since I talked to you, approximately 4 years! Wow!" she shook out her soft fur and looked around. "I talked to the allmate Storm before I was last shut down. Where is he?"  
"Storm?" Lucy looked at the shut-down allmate in her lap and narrowed her eyes. "This little shit..."  
"What did he talk to you about, Minni?" Lock asked her, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees  
"Oh, a lot of things, but he asked me what the purpose of an allmate is."  
"The purpose of an allmate?" Lock tipped his head. "Can you explain?"  
"The last time I was shut down for a long time, Stormy was going to sleep. When Storm turned me on, he told me that Lucy was depressed because Stormy had died while I was shut down. He said that he had tried to power me on before, but that my circuits were unresponsive. He finally managed to power me on, he said, and asked the purpose of allmates."  
"How did you answer him?" Lock asked, interested.  
"I answered to the best of my abilities. From what I gathered, allmates are here to guide their owners and help them through times of need. They are here to protect and inform."  
"Was he satisfied?"  
"Negative. He was not pleased, and said that he had failed as an allmate. When I asked how he explained that Lucy had replaced all of his internal circuits and his AI chip, and that he did not know how to respond to her."  
"He doesn't know how to respond to me? What does that mean?" Lucy asked, stunned.  
"I do not know, Lucy."  
"Well, I'm about to find out." Lucy mumbled, then opened Storm's port and turned him on. "Storm."  
"Hello, Lucy." Storm blinked and looked at her. "What is wrong? You seem down."  
"Ya could have told me that ya don't know how to respond to me. I would only ask you why." Lucy said, frowning. He tensed in surprise, then chuckled.  
"I just do not understand how you prefer me to act towards you. My primary coding is polite, and formal."  
"I've told you to act like I'm a friend." she chuckled. "Your chip isn't responding the way I want it to is a first, usually my personality chips work. Maybe I should try again..." she pondered, trailing off.  
"How do friends treat each other?" Storm's question interrupted her train of thought.  
"Well... take how me and Stormy treated each other before she died... we were sisters, but we were always teasing each other, and we were almost never formal with each other."  
"Hm...." he thought for a moment. "Okay."  
"And you can bother me about anything from now on." Lucy added.  
"But friends do not bother other friends with problems such as that."  
"Maybe, but best friends bug the shit out of each other with things like that. I think of ya as my best friend, so you're allowed to bug me all ya want." Lucy promised him, laughing a little before cringing.  
"You seem to have a head wound, Lucy. Shall I get some ice for you?" Storm slipped off her lap and headed into the kitchen before she could answer, and she smiled.  
"Thanks for pushing me, Lock. I need ya to push me more often, okay?" she looked at him and grinned.  
"I'll even shove you to make you realize that my ideas are good." Lock said, laughing with her. "Don't worry, I'll help you with your life."  
"Thanks." she blinked, then smiled softly. "Having a family as rowdy as ya boys has given me grey hair."  
"You had grey hair long before we met you."  
"Screw ya."  
"That goes double for you." Lock laughed.  
"Lucy?" Minni stood and looked around. "Do you have an alter for Stormy?"  
Lucy blinked and picked her up. "Yea, up in her room. Why?"  
"I did research while you and Lock were, teasing, each other just now. I found that 3 out of every 4 times having one is good." Minni said, tipping her head. "Has it helped you?"  
"I-I suppose it has." Lucy replied, a bit taken aback. "It's custom to have one here in Japan, to remember your dead loved ones."  
"That is good."  
"Yea."  
"Have you gotten a job since I was shut down?"  
"No..." Lucy smiled sheepishly. "Not an official one, but I get paid well to repair older allmate models."  
"Finally putting your good talent to good use." Minni nodded. "That is very well. I'm glad that you have turned me on, I enjoy talking to you."  
"I'm sorry I didn't power ya up earlier, I just.... I shut down for a little bit myself."  
"I do not understand. I thought humans do not have an off switch like allmates."  
Lucy laughed and picked up Storm, who was back with the baggie of ice. "We don't, Minni. It's... a figure of speech." she held the ice to her head and thought for a moment. "I didn't literally shut down. I felt, like... numb. I couldn't feel anything for months."  
"Oh..." Minni crawled into her lap with Storm and nuzzled her belly. "I'm sorry."  
"It wasn't your fault, Minni, ya don't have to apologize." Lucy picked her up and set her on her shoulder.  
"I feel like I have to.."  
"Ya don't, it's okay."  
"Alright, if you say so." Minni looked at Lock "Did you help Lucy through her grieving period?"  
"Er..." Lock blinked a few times. "I dunno... I feel like I helped her as much as I could."  
"Good." Minni nodded and nuzzled Lucy's shoulder, then jumped down and curled up to Storm. "You helped as much as you could, too."  
"I did not help much, however." Storm looked at the little mouse. "I feel as if I have failed."  
"Ya didn't, Storm. Ya stayed with me throughout my 4 years of mood swings." Lucy hugged him and smiled. "Thank ya..." she looked at Lock. "Lock, I'm entrusting Katey to ya, Shock, and Barrel. I'm going to take a few days while my head heals, ya know, walk around and just chill. Ya three rowdy monsters are in charge until Saturday. That's 3 days of being in control and making sure the others don't murder each other. Can ya handle it?"  
"Of course. We were born to lead, Lucy."  
"I somehow doubt that. Alright, out, I'm gonna go to that store and look around for a little bit." Lucy stood and walked over to the door with Lock. "Thanks again."  
"Eh, no problem. Families gotta kick each others' asses, right?"  
"Yup. See ya." she kissed his cheek, then closed the door and went to try and make a snack one-handedly.  
Storm and Minni watched her, then Storm laughed and jumped on the counter.  
"You suck at this." he told her, then went and grabbed a Ziploc bag and the goldfish she had stashed on her fridge.  
Minni chuckled. "Yes, I must say that you were very inefficient in making sugar bread with only one hand."  
"Oh, shush." Lucy shook her head and tossed her attempt in the trash. "I am trying to hold an ice pack at the same time."  
"How are you healing so fast?" Minni looked at her. "Your head wound has healed more than it should be, and your other wounds besides your lip one are already gone."  
"Dunno. I've always healed faster than other kids, and I have no idea why."  
"It is not a bad thing, it is just very unusual." she said quickly, jumping up on Lucy's shoulder.  
"I know, don't worry, ya didn't upset me or anything."  
"Here." Storm came over and set the half-full bag of goldfish on the counter in front of her. "Now let's go, I'm interested in this Junk Shop Mediocrity."  
"Alright, alright, let's go." Lucy looked at Minni. "Wanna come along?"  
"Of course I want to! I am curious, too." Minni smiled and climbed into Lucy's jacket pocket.  
"I have a bag, ya know." Lucy went up to her room and grabbed a purple and black duffle bag. "In ya go, guys."  
"Alright." they chorused, and Storm leapt in easily. Minni tried to climb in, and Lucy noticed that she was having trouble after she put her gloves on.  
"Need help, Minni?" she asked, but before she could help the little mouse Storm leaned over and picked her up by the scruff of her neck, setting her beside him.  
"There you go." Storm looked at her and smiled a little. Minni blinked, then reached up and bumped noses with him.  
"Thank you!" she chirped, peeking over the side of the bag as Lucy slung it over her shoulder.  
Lucy moved the strap so it was over her chest, then made sure it was secure before going downstairs. She put her snack in, then went out and locked her door, making sure it was fully closed before walking to the sidewalk. "This oughta be fun."


	2. Chapter 8

"Storm, can ya look up the route to Junk Shop Mediocrity?" Lucy asked a few minutes later, looking both ways when she got to a street.  
"One moment." he quickly looked it up. "Go towards the main city, I'll guide you when you get to the limits."  
"Alright, thanks, Storm." she turned right and began the quiet, 20 minute walk to the city border. When they got there she looked at him. "Now where?"  
"Turn right, going towards Delivery Works, and when you get there take South Boulevard."  
"Okay." she followed his directions. Before she could pass Delivery Works, however, the newest worker Kenji saw her, his dyed green hair flopping into his eyes, as usual.  
"Yo! Lu!" he called out, and she groaned.  
"Goddamit, I was hoping against hope." she mumbled under her breath, then turned and gave him a small smile. "Hey, Kenji..."  
"Just the girl I was hoping to see, I gotta package for you!" he waved her over. "Come on in and hang for a minute while I grab it."  
"A package?" Lucy went in. "Since when have I ever had a friend out of town?"  
"I dunno, I don't recognize the name." he went in the back for a minute, and Clara, the owner's dog allmate, squealed.  
"Stormyyyyyyy!" she ran over and jumped up on Lucy's leg to try and look at Storm. "How are you?!"  
"For the last time, I am Storm, not Stormy. Get it right." Storm growled at her.  
"What's the difference? Storm, Stormy. Same thing."  
"Clara, stop." Storm snapped. "It's Storm, and if you call me Stormy again I'll tell Yoshie."  
"But Stormy-"  
"Clara." Lucy said sharply but softly, staring at the 'help wanted' sign.  
"Yes?"  
"Go get Madame."  
"Okay!" she bounded off, and Kenji came back with a box.  
"Thanks, Kenji." Lucy took the box and signed off for it. Yoshie came out, then gave Lucy a tight hug.  
"Lucy!" she smiled widely. "I haven't seen you for awhile!"  
"I know." she smiled and nodded. "I was actually looking at that sign." she pointed to the 'help wanted' one. "Got an opening for me? It should be fine, since your shop is on the border of my territory."  
"Of course! I'll always have an opening for you!" Yoshie bubbled.  
"Great. Now, what do ya need help with?"  
"I'm sure you haven't heard yet, but I was hoping to start a catering service in the empty shop next door. I've already bought it, but I need some people to help fix it up."  
"Why don't ya take me over and show me what ya mean?" Lucy suggested, gesturing to the door. She opened it and held it for Yoshie, then walked next door with her.  
"Well, as you can see, it needs a lot of work, it's leaking and basically needs to be rebuilt." Yoshie put her hand to her cheek and chuckled nervously. "I know, I didn't think this through, maybe-"  
"No, wait, lemme think." Lucy held up a finger and looked around, making calculations in her head and nodding. "The best thing to do is just clear off the lot, and if ya give me a general idea or picture of what ya want it to look like I'll set my unemployed boys on it."  
"Really? You would do that for me?" Yoshie squealed.  
"Of course. I think my boys are starting to get restless, they need something to do. This is perfect." Lucy turned and smiled at her. "We can get started when ya get me that idea for looks, okay?"  
"Oh, you are just wonderful!" Yoshie hugged her hard and gave her a big, wet kiss on the cheek. "I'm so glad I have you to depend on!"  
"Yeah, no problem, Madame." Lucy chuckled and walked outside with her. "And don't worry about hiring anyone to scrap this, my boys will do it themselves."  
"Alright, sweetie." she looked at the box under Lucy's arm. "Oh, good, you have that box. I've never seen a name like that before, and I have seen a lot of odd names."  
Lucy looked at it, then at the name. "Sei? Hm... Nope, never seen it, but I'll see what this person sent me."  
"Alright, hun. Well, you look like a girl on a mission, so I'll let you go."  
"Thanks. Oh, how far is Junk Shop Mediocrity from here? Like, timewise?"  
"Oh, you're headed there? It's maybe a 20 or 30 minute walk from here. When you get there tell Aoba I said hi!"  
"Dunno who that is, but I'll find out and pass it along." Lucy smiled, then waved and turned to walk away. "Seeya later." she walked down the main road. "Storm, a walk that long is at the other end of the island, right?"  
"Yes."   
"Alright, just tell me when to turn."  
"Understood."  
"Is Madame a close friend, Lucy?" Minni asked her, poking her head out.  
"I used to hang out with her a lot when Stormy worked at the auto repair shop, remember?"  
"Oh, yes, now I recall this. Her real name is Yoshie."  
"Yup." Lucy nodded and walked a little quicker. "Br, fall is coming, I can feel it."  
"Yes, it is." Minni smiled.  
"Lucy." Storm said softly, looking at her. "I think we have company."  
Lucy looked around and quickly spotted the blond that had bounced her head off the ground. "I see him."  
"Lucy?" he walked up to her and she flexed her fist. "Er, Mink wants to see you."  
"I'm kinda goin' somewhere, so it can wait." she walked around him.  
"I'll come along and take you to him after."  
"Look, kid." she spoke as they walked. "I'm taking 3 days off. If he still wants to talk to me after that, great, he can send somebody to my turf and fetch me. But I'm not doing much for the next few days because of ya bouncing my head off of concrete."  
"My name's Nikki. And he told me to get you there by tonight or else I was dead."  
"Nikki. I know you're trying to restrain yourself from just dragging me there. Tell ya what; he knows where I live. He can stop by my house. He gets to come in my turf if he wants to talk today. Tell him that."  
"A-Alright." Nikki nodded and turned at the next corner.  
Lucy sighed as she walked. After about 15 minutes of silence, Storm finally spoke.  
"Lucy? I do not think he was kidding when he said that Mink would kill him."  
"No, he wasn't kidding. He really thinks that Mink will kill him, but he will most likely just beat him."  
"You say that casually. Why?"  
"Because Nikki can feel the family bonds every time he enters my territory. He's crossed before, trying to help expand Mink's territory. I've seen him on the border before, looking at our territory with... hope, I suppose. He's never known restraint before he met me and I schooled him."  
"I do not get it."  
"I believe she is trying to say that Nikki would like to join Black Dragon. He seems unhappy in Scratch." Minni piped up. "I believe he would like a proper family."  
"I see." Storm nodded. "It makes sense, if you put it like that."  
"Yup." Lucy nodded and looked around. "Where to now, buddy?"  
"Left. It will become visible in 2 blocks."  
"Thank ya." Lucy turned and kept walking, thinking. After only a minute Junk Shop Mediocrity came into her view, and she sighed. "Finally. My hips are starting to hurt."  
"That is not good." Storm looked up at her as she walked into the store. "Shall I-"  
"Welcome to Junk Shop Mediocrity." a boy with electric blue hair greeted her. He had on a puffy brain jacket that was blue, a navy blue shirt, pink headphones around his neck, jeans, and fluffy blue boots. Lucy looked at him and laughed a little.  
"Ya really like the color blue, don't ya?"


	3. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, my laptop is broken, so I'm using the school computer to upload today. One or both of the hard drive disks in the laptop wont work, so the laptop cant process the information needed to actually start up ad not crash. If I'm lucky I'll upload on Saturday like normal, but if not I'll be uploading on Monday using the school computer again. If you read this, thanks~

9 * * *  
Lucy smiled and looked around. "Hm. Retro. I like it."  
"Thanks." he smiled brightly. "What are you looking for, or are you just browsing?"  
"Just browsing for now." she walked over to a bin and looked through it. "Hey, Storm, Minni, look." she picked up a few allmate parts and grinned. "These are rabbit parts. How do you feel about a new buddy?"  
"No." Storm said  
"Yes!" Minni squealed at the same time, and Lucy smiled.  
"I think I'll find one somewhere and fix it up, then sell it." she looked through the bin for more parts and found a whole bunch. "Wow, is this a miscellaneous box? None of these parts are the same."  
"They aren't?" the boy came over and looked at them. "I thought they were."  
"No, no no no no no, not even close. Ya got all sorts of parts in here, s- and d- and a-parts. Mouse, dog, rabbit, cat, snake, snake, chinchilla, mouse..." she sighed. "They are all different."  
"I'm sorry, I thought they were right, I leave sorting to the boss."  
"No, no, I'm just super OCD about these things since I'm an allmate repairer."  
"Repairer?" he chuckled as she picked out the parts she needed and separated the rest into their proper piles. "Well, if you are what you claim, I have a few things in the back In think you'd like."  
"Really? Like what?"  
"Let me go grab the box." he went behind the desk and opened the door there, then entered it and left Lucy while he went to grab the box.  
"Don't worry, Aoba will be out in a moment." Lucy jumped and looked at the source of the deep voice, a little black dog sitting on a stool.  
"Warning would have been nice." Lucy muttered, sitting in the swivel chair behind the desk and rubbing her head. "What's your name?"  
"Ren."  
"Ren, huh?" Lucy nodded. "Nice name." she looked at the box she'd picked up from Yoshie and looked around. "Ya don't happen to know where a box cutter is, do ya?"  
"It's in the cup beside the computer." Ren said, and Lucy retrieved it and slit open the box. She blinked, then pulled out a binder and found two more under it.  
"What the..." she looked at the binder labelled 'Subject 221356-1', then glanced at the other two, labelled 'Subject 221356-2' and 'Subject 221356-3'.  
"Subject 221356?" she mumbled, putting the last two back in the box and opening the first one. She skimmed the page, but stopped when she saw the first sentence.  
Lucy Ann Kitsune, 1 year, given experiment from Kitsune Clan to Toue Scientific Industries.  
Lucy stared at that sentence quietly for a minute, then closed the binder and put it in the box. She stood up right as Aoba came back with a box, and he set the box on the desk and smiled.  
"Here it is." he looked at her, and his smile faltered. "Are you okay?"  
"What? Oh, um, yea, sorry..." she mumbled, then looked at the box and parts that lay scattered on the desk. "Uh, how much for all this?"  
"If you like what you see I'll give it to you for cheap." he opened the box and pulled out a lifeless rabbit allmate, navy blue with white markings. "There's a few other different allmates that have been sold to us, but everyone has an allmate nowadays. No one wanted them. But, if you do buy them, I have a small favor to ask."  
"Yeah, this is great." Lucy forced a smile. "What's your favor?"  
"My friend loves rabbits. Maybe, if you want, you can fix up the rabbit and bring it back? I wanna give it to him, but I'm not familiar with rabbits and I couldn't find anyone that knows about them around here." he rubbed his neck in embarrassment. "I'll pay you for-"  
"Oh, no, don't worry about pay. Ya are giving all this to me for cheaper than priced; I'll definitely fix it up and bring it back." she smiled at him again and put the pieces in the box, then gently took the rabbit and set it back in as well. "It's the least I can do, after all.. Thanks, Aoba." she suddenly remembered something. "Oh, and Madame sends her greetings."  
"Madame?" Aoba looked puzzled.  
"The owner of Delivery Works, Yoshie."  
"Oh. Sorry, I've never heard anyone call her that. Well, there was this one time when I was younger and I'd just started working here. The boss was taking me for a small tour of some places I'd go. It was this girl with waist-long black hair and brown eyes who was hanging out, about my age. When I asked about her Madame, as you call her, told me that her sister dropped her off every day before she went to work nearby."  
Lucy stared at him, then asked softly, "Did the girl have scars on her arms, ones that looked like surgery scars?"  
"Yeah. Why, do you know her?"  
She shook her head, then sighed. "I am her."  
"Really?" Aoba smiled a bit. "You never responded when I tried to say hi."  
"I couldn't hear real well until I turned 15. I was in a bad accident when I was 12."  
"Oh." Aoba nodded. "Sorry I didn't ask before, but what's your name?"  
"Uh, Lucy. And you're Aoba." Lucy shook hands with him. "I usually passed out at Madame's, so I haven't actually met ya before, sorry."  
"Nah, it's cool."  
"Oh, did ya hear that Madame is trying to start up a catering service?"  
"Really? No, I didn't. Where?"  
"Right next door to Delivery Works. Me and my boys are gonna tear down the old place and build the new one for her."  
"Your boys?"  
"I run a gang."  
"Oh, Lucy of Black Dragon, right?"  
"Yes. How did ya know?"  
"Mizuki talks about you sometimes." Aoba sat down, and Lucy leaned on the desk a little.  
"I haven't talked to him in awhile. Is he doing okay?"  
"Yea, he is now. He was... sick, for a little while."  
Lucy didn't miss the pause, but didn't press it, either. "Is he doing good now? He was in the hospital awhile back."  
"Yea. But Mizuki talks about you sometimes, how quick and smart and brave you are. I think he has a crush."  
"No way." Lucy chuckled, then stood up and picked up the boxes again. "Alright, I love talking, but I'm gonna go see Mizuki before I head home. Bye, Aoba." Lucy looked at Ren and nodded. "Bye, Ren."  
"Good-bye, Lucy." Ren said, wagging his tail a little. "I hope we can see you soon."  
"I'm sure you'll see me so much you'll start to hate me." Lucy joked, then nodded and left.   
"I do not think that hating you is possible, Lucy." Storm said as they walked out and down the street. "You are too...." he thought. "What is the word..?"  
"Cute?" Minni offered.  
"Sure. Cute."  
"It's possible, Storm, it's just really hard." Lucy corrected him, laughing softly. She bumped into someone, and when she stumbled back the person steadied her.  
"Oops, sorry, kid." Mizuki was the one grabbing her arms to steady her, and she grinned.  
"Hey, my buddy." she turned to look at him, almost dropping a box.  
"Do I know you?" he grabbed the top box and feigned surprise. "Oh, my God, it's my best fighter Lucy. How have you been, kiddo?"  
"Eh, up and down."  
"I can tell." he walked beside her as they headed down the street. "How's your sis? She must be proud of ya."  
Lucy looked away. "She died."  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know."  
"Ya were in the hospital when she did, I'm not surprised ya didn't know."  
"I'm still sorry."  
"Me, too."  
They walked in silence for a moment, then Mizuki nudged her.  
"You still living in that junk shop you call a house?"  
"Oh, shush, it's not a junk shop. It has personality." Lucy put her nose in the air. "Hmph!"  
"Sorry." Mizuki laughed. "So, what are you doing nowadays?"  
"I repair allmates, and I'm starting a building project."  
"Sounds sweet."  
"I'm actually excited about something for once. It definitely beats sitting around and twiddling my thumbs."  
"There are other things." he glanced at her suggestively and she bumped her shoulder against his arm.  
"Ya perv." she laughed, following him as he turned down an alley. "How's Dry Juice?"  
"We fell apart for a little while, but we're back and better than before." he chuckled. "How's Black Dragon? Those boys treating you good?"  
"My Dragons are doing great, thanks. We've grown a lot and when the Tower went down I added the Green Playground and Midnight Blue districts, and the Tower, ruins to my turf."  
"Wow, you're quick to act."  
"Damn straight!" Lucy went quiet, then slowed to a stop. "Mizuki?"  
"Yeah?" he looked back and stopped. "Hey, what's wrong?"  
"What do ya know about Toue Scientific Industries?" she asked, staring at the box in her hands. It was the one with the binders in it.  
"Unfortunately, I dunno much, but I bet Koujaku would know something." he said. "Is something bothering you about it?"  
"Ah, nothing, I'll just stop by Beni Sigure's hideout later." she shook her head.  
"I could always ask him to come by for a little while." Mizuki suggested, walking with her again.  
"I don't wanna be any trouble." Lucy said quickly, but Mizuki was already e-mailing Kojaku on his Coil.  
"My favorite fighter is bothered by something, and I want it resolved. I don't you any sadder or more strained than you already are." Mizuki said firmly. "It's not a problem, really."  
"Uh, thank ya, Mizuki." Lucy smiled uncertainly and he nudged her again.  
"Hey, come on, families bother each other all the time. You're allowed to bother me whenever you want." he said, grinning at her. "You're like a little sister to me."  
"I know, but-"  
"No buts. You and all of your Dragons are allowed to bug me and Dry Juice, I promise." Mizuki interrupted her.  
"Okay. Thanks." she smiled, more genuinely this time, and sat down on the concrete stairs of the abandoned underground train station the Dry Juice members called home when Mizuki and her got there. "It's just how I remember it." she sighed and stretched. "It's nice to relax every once in awhile..."  
"Yeah. Kojaku says he'll be here in a few, he's finishing up a job near here."  
"Cool." Lucy looked around. "Where're all the boys?"  
"They went to a Rib fight near here." Mizuki sat beside her.  
"Ah, cool." she yawned. "Do ya let any of your boys near Rhyme fights?"  
"Hell no, that shit messes you up."  
"Yeah. I won't let mine near them unless they're monitoring them. I've heard it fucks up their brain if they play."  
"It does." Mizuki checked his Coil, then got up and got the small table and crates he uses when others visit.  
"I powered up Minni." Lucy let Minni and Storm out to roam and visit with Mizuki's weasel allmate.  
"That's good."  
"Yeah. I'm glad I did. I like talking to her."  
"She's an insightful allmate." Mizuki sat on a crate right as Koujaku came down the stairs.  
"Hey, Lu!" he ruffled her hair before sitting down beside Mizuki on the other crate. "What's up?"  
"Not much, not much." Lucy rubbed her neck. "How are ya?"  
"I'm good, thanks. I havent seen you in awhile."  
"Yea." she nodded and sat back, smiling. "I've been busy."  
"Are those Dragons the reason why?"  
"Nah, man, she's got something else on her mind." Mizuki looked at her and grinned.  
"Oh, yea, you mentioned that in the email." Koujaku nodded and looked at Lucy. "What was it that you wanted to talk about?"  
Lucy thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I kinda want to catch up before we talk about it. I've missed a lot."  
"Yeah, so have we!" Mizuki laughed. "Ah, I havent talked to you in a long time. You've grown."  
"Yeah, but I'm still short" Lucy smiled, content with talking to her old friends. "You know what, Ive known you guys for years.... 10 years already..." she looked at both of them.  
"What? No way!" Koujaku exclaimed. "How old are you?"  
"Well, I turned 20 a few weeks after the Over Tower went down, so...."  
"Holy, holy, you're 24?" he blew out a heavy sigh. "I feel old now."  
Lucy chuckled. "Ya and me both, Ko."  
"I feel young" Mizuki said proudly, then dodged when Lucy threw a glove at him. "Hey, just sayin'!"  
The three teased each other and talked for a few hours. Eventually Lucy looked at the time. "Oh, wow, 3 o'clock already? Jeez, where'd time go?"  
"Everywhere." Mizuki grinned.  
"Hey, Lu, you were gonna ask about those." Koujaku reminded her about the box of binders.  
"Oh, right." she grabbed it. "Well, I have a few questions."  
"Shoot." he said, looking at her intently and setting his elbows on the table.  
Lucy hesitated, then sighed and put the box of binders on the table as well. "I got these from Madame today when I was passing Delivery Works. They are from someone named Sei, no return addy, no last name. I don't know anyone named Sei, but I opened it, obviously to see what was sent to me..." she looked at him before pulling out the first binder. "What do ya know about Toue Scientific Industries?"  
"Why? You've never been this interested in Toue before."  
"That was before, Ko." Lucy gripped the binder edges with both hands, and Mizuki rubbed her shoulder.  
"It's okay, he'll help you." he assured her, then looked at Koujaku."I'm gonna go check on my boys."  
It was obviously an excuse to leave them alone so that Koujaku could help Lucy.  
"Awright, man, don't let us stop you." Koujaku nodded and turned to Lucy as Mizuki left. She stared at the binder in her hands for a moment, then shoved it at him.  
"Read the first page. Tell me if it's a joke." she mumbled, her hands shaking a bit. "Please..."  
"Okay, kiddo, calm down." Koujaku took the binder and read the first few pages of it. "This doesn't look like a joke, kid. I'm sorry."  
"H-How? Toue didn't do human experiments, did he?" Lucy clenched her fists under the table, and Koujaku stood up and went over to hug her.  
"He did. He did do experiments on humans, and this isn't the only human modification one."  
"Human... modification?" Lucy looked at the binder uncertainly. "But why would anyone..?"  
"Sei sent it to help explain weird things, I'm sure."  
Lucy looked up at Kojaku. "Ya know something."  
"Yes. and I know someone who can help you get through this, too. Several people, actually." Koujaku offered his hand to her. "Come on, let's go say good-bye to Mizuki then head over to the place."  
"Alright." Lucy took his hand and stood up, then picked up the box of allmate parts Aoba had given her. She didnt want to be near the binders. Koujaku picked up the other box, setting the binder in it, then walked out with Lucy following. They said farewell to Mizuki, went down the road, took a few turns, and ended up in front of a house. Kojaku went right up to the door, but Lucy hung back uncertainly, hesitant.  
"Damn, Koujaku, you're always coming over now!"


	4. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... will be on less than I thought. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm tryna get the laptop fixed, i promise!! Don't kill me -hides- But I'm posting two chapters today and one tomorrow, is that okay? Forgive me? :3 anyways, review and rate if you wanna, I'm totally cool with that. Questions or comments or even concerns are welcomed. Enjoy~

10 * * *  
"Damn, Koujaku, you're always coming over now!"  
An old woman's voice pulled Lucy out of her thoughts, and she looked at Koujaku and a short woman with braided pink hair.  
"Tae, I have someone with me to see you." Koujaku looked at her, then nodded towards the door. "Come on, Lu, don't be shy."  
"Oh, uhm.." Lucy walked over and bowed to the woman. "Hello. I'm Lucy Kitsune, alpha of Black Dragon."  
"I'm Tae Seragaki. Nice to meet you, Lucy." Tae bowed to her a bit and smiled.  
"And it's nice to meet ya, too." Lucy smiled back and followed Tae and Kojaku in the house. She slipped off her boots, then set the box down and sat down to let Stormy and Minni out of the duffle bag.  
"Noiz, are you really waiting for your boyfriend?" she heard Koujaku's annoyed voice in the next room, so she picked up Minni and set Stormy on her shoulder, then went to investigate.  
"Yes."  
When she got to the room Koujaku and a blond boy were glaring at each other. The boy had several piercings in his face, and had bright yellow and navy blue clothes on. She covered her mouth, then giggled a little bit. Both their gazes moved to look at her, and she only laughed harder.  
"Who are you?" the blond asked.  
"Noiz, this is Lucy. Lucy, toilet brush." Koujaku jerked a finger at Noiz.  
"At least I don't look like a fat old tomato." Noiz shot back, and Lucy laughed again.  
"Alright, stop it, ya guys are acting like children." she shook her head and walked to an ajoining room, finding it was the kitchen.  
Tae was at the stove, struggling with something, and Lucy set Storm down on a chair. She went over, then gently grabbed the bowl Tae was wrestling with and scraped out the rest of what was in it into the frying pan.  
"Stir-fry?" she asked, moving it around with the spatula. "It's really good if ya add a bit of chopped ginger, gives it a small twist."  
"Oh, honey, don't do that, you're a guest."  
"What kind of guest would I be if I let ya cook for a complete stranger ya let into your home?"  
"It's really quite alright, hun, if Koujaku trusts you I do, too."  
"I'm glad." Lucy smiled and gave her the spatula. "Alright. Do ya have ginger, it really does make it taste better."  
"That pantry." Tae pointed to an herb pantry and Lucy took out a small piece of ginger. She chopped it up finely, then added it to the food. "There." she smiled. "I haven't made food like this in awhile..."  
"I make this much every night. Usually about now Aoba shows up with Clear and Mink."  
"Uhm..." Lucy sat down and looked at Storm. "A-Aoba? Blue hair? And Mink, always has a pipe in his mouth?"  
"Yeah. And Clear, a white haired boy with pink eyes." Tae glanced at her. "Do you know Aoba and Mink?"  
"I met Aoba earlier, and, well... I'm not on good terms with Mink." she mumbled, drawing invisible shapes on the table with her finger. Tae sat beside her, letting the food simmer.  
"You okay, Lucy?" she asked, gently stopping Lucy's hand. "Something is bothering you."  
"Hey, Tae, I came over to see if you could help Lucy." Kojaku came in and sat down across from them, putting the box of binders on the table. "Sei sent these to her."  
"Sei did?" Tae looked surprised. "Then they must have been hidden until found by someone, who sent them to her." she looked at Lucy's confused face and sighed. "I'll tell you what I know after dinner, okay?"  
"Mmk.." Lucy stood up right as the front door opened and Aoba, Mink, and Clear walked in.  
"Granny, we're-" Aoba started to call out, then stopped when he saw Lucy. "Hey, Lucy. What's up?"  
"Uhm.." Lucy fidgeted a bit as Aoba went over and hugged Tae, then stopped when she felt something touch her spine and go from the base to the top. "Euah!" she whipped around and the white-haired boy put his hands up in defense. "Whadaya doing?!"  
"I am sorry, I was just curious." He said apologetically, and she adjusted her coat. "Your spine is different, as are your forearms."  
"Yes, I know. Wait, how did ya know that?" Lucy narrowed her eyes a bit.  
"I am an android."  
"Hm." she looked at him. "Ya look human to me."  
"Thank you. I am glad that I was built well." Clear smiled and bowed to her. "I am Clear. What is your name?"  
"I'm Lucy." she nodded to him.  
"You are a new friend among us?"  
"Not all of us." Lucy glanced at Mink.  
"Did you bring the tapes, dragon?" Mink asked, taking a drag off his pipe.  
"I'll give them to ya when I am good and ready to, trenchcoat."  
"It's Mink. Not trenchcoat."  
"And I'm Lucy. Not dragon."  
The others watched them quietly, and Tae went to serve up food.  
"Alright, quit bickering, it's time to eat." Tae gave Mink a plate, and he went in the living room. The others sat down, but Lucy remained standing to grab the binder box and set it beside the couch before sitting down.  
Aoba looked at her. "I could have gotten that."  
"It's alright, I don't want to be a bother anymore than I already am." Lucy smiled a bit and nodded when a plate was set in front of her. "Thank you."  
Tae sat down last of all, then looked around the table as the others ate. She began eating as well, then paused when she realized Lucy wasn't eating. "Is something wrong, dear?"  
All eyes were on Lucy, except Mink's, and she shook her head.  
"No, I was just thinking." she took a bite and nodded. "It's good, thank you."  
"No problem."  
As Tae and the others talked and joked with each other, Lucy just watched and ate quietly. When she took a sip of her drink, she smiled a bit.  
'Just like my dragons.' she thought, putting her cup down and popping a water chestnut in her mouth. She chewed slowly, then swallowed and took another sip of her drink.  
"Lucy-san, you should tell a funny story as well!" Clear's voice yanked her out of her thoughts, and she looked at him.  
"What? A funny story?" she asked, shaking her head. "No, I'll pass."  
"Aw, but come on, please?" Clear clasped his hands and gave her a begging look.  
"You must have at least one funny story." Koujaku grinned at her. "Come on, humor the poor kid."  
"Well...." Lucy thought for a moment. "I remember when my sister almost set our house on fire."  
"Ooh, yes!" Clear clapped once and looked at her intently.   
"It was when Stormy tried cooking for my 15th, do ya remember that, Koujaku?" she looked at him and he laughed.  
"Yes."  
"I had just gotten home from work," she began, smiling a little at the memory. "I usually cooked the complex, homemade meals, because Stormy could set a bowl of cereal ablaze, she was that special. Well, I was home from work and I was really sore, so Stormy told me she would cook." she shook her head. "She mentioned something about cooking lessons, so I fell asleep for all of half an hour, but what wakes me up? The fire alarm. So I went downstairs, and found her trying to put out a grease fire that she started while making potstickers. I just kinda watched her wrestle with this ceiling-high, blue fire with water, of all things, water. Then I cut open the emergency box of baking power and dumped it on the fire. Never let her anywhere near the kitchen after that."  
"Jeez. She sounds like an interesting character, why didn't she come with you?" Noiz asked, chewing on one of his silver snake bite studs.  
Lucy looked away. "Reasons."  
"Hm." he shrugged and stood up to put his dishes in the dishwasher, and the rest of the boys did as well. Lucy started to stand, but Aoba grabbed her dishes before she could and put them in with his own.  
Tae stood last, when the boys had settled, and started the dishwasher. She sat back down, then looked at Lucy intently.  
"So, why did Koujaku think I could help you?" she asked Lucy, who shrugged.  
"Dunno."  
Koujaku looked at Tae. "The binders, remember?"  
"Oh yeah. Lucy, would you be a dear and bring them here?" Tae smiled at her, and Lucy complied, setting the box in front of her. She sat down, and Tae looked at Aoba.  
"Sei sent her these." she told him, then gave him the first binder. He took it and opened it to read the first few pages, then looked at Lucy.  
"So he did more than one super-human experiment." he said softly.  
"Super human experiment? Whadaya talking about?" Lucy frowned a bit, confused. "I didn't read them, I got them earlier and have been everywhere. I did use the boxcutter at your work, and read the first page of the first one, but that's as far as I got."  
"Aoba and Sei were Toue's experiments." Tae explained. "Each with their own power. Sei could influence others with his eyes, Aoba with his voice. But only Sei was raised like that, because I took Aoba and fled here. I used to work for Toue, in neuroplasticity, but I didn't know he was doing human experimentation. After I found out, I did research and only found out about Sei, Aoba, and his mental-influencial experiments."  
"Mind control." Lucy said, thinking.  
"Yes. I left with Aoba, and I thought it had only been those two. But you were made, too-"  
"No." Lucy interrupted her.  
"No?" Noiz looked at her.  
"I wasn't made, I was given to Toue Scientific Industries by the Kitsune Clan." she said, not noticing Mink stiffen up. But Clear did.  
"Mink-san, what is wrong?" he asked, and Mink turned a little to look at the group.  
"I knew that clan. They were assured peace and wealth if they gave up the strongest child under a year to Toue." he said, looking at Lucy. "But they were killed like my own."  
Lucy tensed up, and Koujaku rubbed her arm.  
"Hey, back to our discussion." he said softly, and Lucy shook her head and stood up.  
"I'm sorry, I can't do this right now." she mumbled, shaking her head. "I'll see ya tomorrow, Ko."  
With that said Lucy slipped on her boots, picked up her duffle with the allmates inside and left with the box of allmate parts. She turned and bowed a little, then left quietly. She walked down to the street, then turned left and began walking home. It was dark, but she wasn't worried. Every gang knew her by this point.  
"Oi." she heard Mink say from behind her, and she stopped and turned a little.  
"Yes?" she asked, rolling her shoulders.  
"Need a ride?" It was more of a statement, really, with his monotonous voice, but the question was still there.  
"Uhm, I think I'm okay." she said, feeling a bit awkward.  
"Fine. I still need to talk to you." he walked over and followed when she started walking again. "What do you know about yourself?"  
"What?" Lucy looked at him. "Uhm, I'm 24, born on Halloween, I dont know where i was born, my parents died when I was little, I have metal replacements, my nerves shut down when I've experienced a certain amount of pain, my blood type is A negative-"  
"Stop."  
"Huh?"  
"You've been fed a lot of lies." Mink said, taking a drag. "You were right until you said your blood type."  
"But it is A negative."  
"You mean it was."  
Lucy looked at him. "What do ya mean? It's always been A negative, Mink."  
"It was when you were an infant. It was until Toue switched it out with experimental blood." Mink stopped, and she stopped as well, staring at him. "I read those binders during dinner. He switched your blood with an experimental one, modified kimono dragon. He tried to turn you into a living weapon, and it succeeded until the lone survivor of the assasination clan Kitsune came and whisked you away." he turned to her, and she swallowed hard.  
"So... I'm, what, part lizard?" she stammered, gripping the box in her hands. "T-that's impossible, the genetic code-"  
"Impossible isn't a word anymore, kid." he told her.  
"Aren't human experiments illegal?" she tried desperately, trembling a little.  
"Not when you have money." Mink looked at her carefully, then gently grabbed her shoulder and walked with her. "Come on, let's get you home."  
He felt a certain amount of empathy for her. Although he didnt know her kind of shock, he knew how it felt to be shocked to the point of rejecting things for a little bit. He squeezed her shoulder a little as they walked, and soon they were at the edge of her territory.  
"Here." he let her go, but she didn't move. "Lucy, we're here."  
"What did ya want earlier?"  
"What?" he looked at her, then shook his head. "Don't worry about it, it isn't important right now."  
"Just tell me." she said sharply, and he blinked at her sudden change in attitude.  
"I was going to apologize for what Nikki did. He went too far."  
"Whatever, I wasn't too worried about it." she mumbled, and he sighed.  
"You hit your head pretty hard, kid. I was worried that you weren't gonna wake up."  
"Ya should probably worry about your own boys like that." she snapped. "Nikki looked scared shitless when he approached me today because you threatened to kill him!"  
"He's tough, he'll get over it."  
"Don't point the blame at me when he leaves Scratch." she said, then started walking home. Mink stared at her for a moment, then chuckled as he turned to walk the other way.  
"I won't."


	5. Chapter 11

11 * * *  
As soon as Lucy got home her Coil rang. She groaned, then answered it. "Hello?"  
"Lucy Kitsune." an unfamiliar voice on the other end rasped, and she frowned.  
"Who is this?" she asked. "Because I think ya have the wrong-"  
"I'm coming to get you." the voice interrupted her, and she clenched her teeth.  
"I am sorry, but ya have the wrong number."  
"That's funny, I'm very sure that this was the number provided to me by Shock."  
Lucy froze, and the person chuckled.  
"I have your attention now, don't I? Now listen; I will be at your house at 8 am sharp. You had better be there or else your precious gang is going to shit."  
"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Lucy hissed, but the line was already dead. She redialed it, but the number was already out of service. "God damn it, the payphone trick!" she spat, tossing her Coil onto the couch. She thought for a moment, then picked it up and called Koujaku. "Hey, Ko, I need you to come get Stormy and Minni."  
"What, now?"  
"Yes, now!" she spat, in no mood for guessing games.  
"Okay, okay, calm yourself." Koujaku grumbled. "I'll be over in a few mintutes."  
"Just meet me at the border near Delivery Works."  
"Okay."  
Lucy hung up, then took a hammer and smashed her Coil up.  
"Lucy, what's wrong?" Storm asked her, seeming worried.  
"Ya heard the guy, I have to be here when he gets here, but he never said anything about ya." she picked the two allmates up and walked out the door, being cautious. She ran to Delivery Works, waiting impatiently. When she saw Koujaku she hissed a bit.  
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked her, but she just shoved Storm and Minni into his arms. "Wait, what-"  
"Take them somewhere safe, but smash ya Coil right here, right now!" she gave him the hammer.  
"What? Lucy, I can't just smash my Data Bracelet, do you know how expensive they are?"  
"Koujaku, do ya trust me?"  
"Is that a question? Of course I do."  
"Then smash ya Coil."  
Koujaku studied her face for a moment, then nodded and took off his bracelet. He put it on the ground, then smashed it into tiny pieces. "Okay, now tell me why I just did that."  
"Someone just called me on my Coil. Unfamiliar number, unfamiliar voice, but they still got my Coil number. They know who I am, which means they are monitoring me somehow. I called ya after they called me, which, if I'm right, sent ya Coil data to them. Thus, why I had ya kill it."  
"Wait, how did they get your Coil data at all?"  
"A little birdie sang a tune." she muttered, then touched Storm's and Minni's heads with her hand. "I don't want ya to be hurt or destroyed, so I need to shut ya down... I'll turn ya on after I get back."  
"Lucy, wait-!" Storm and Minni began to protest, but she shut them off.  
"Lucy, what's going on?" Koujaku asked her, and Lucy shook her head.  
"Just keep them safe, okay? I have a feeling that I won't be able to.." she sighed, then touched his shoulder. "And keep those binders safe, too."  
"Lucy?" Koujaku frowned a little, but Lucy turned and began walking away.  
"Seeya later, Ko." she said, then broke into a jog and went home.


	6. Chapter 12

12 * * *  
Lucy was ready for the unknown person in the morning. She had put on a silver tee shirt and her jeans, and black tennis shoes. She was slipping on her gloves when there was a knock at her door. She glanced at the time- 8.  
"Timely assholes." she growled, then swung open the door.  
Three men were standing there, all dressed in black suits. They all had silver-blond hair and dark sunglasses. Lucy raised an eyebrow, then sighed. "Russians?" she muttered. "Or German?"  
"That does not matter." the tallest one said, then grabbed her arm roughly. "You are coming with us." the Russian accent was strong through his Japanese words and Lucy could barely understand him.  
"Hey, ow! Get your hands off me!" she snapped, yanking her arm away. "I agreed to come, so don't touch me!"  
"Fine." he gestured to a black car. "Get in."  
Lucy muttered curses under her breath as she followed the tallest and was tailed by the other two. She got in, one in the back with her and the other two in the front. It was silent as the tallest started up the car, but that was broken when he spoke to the one beside her as he began to drive. She couldn't understand them because it was Russian, but she assumed it was something not good when the one beside her took a cloth out of his pocket.  
"Hey!" she exclaimed angrily when he grabbed her arm roughly. "Let me go! What are you doing?!"  
He didn't answer, but rather just pinned her to her seat and pushed the cloth against her nose and mouth. She inhaled to yell, but the sharp fumes of whatever was on the cloth filled her lungs and went straight to her head, and the world went black as she passed out.


End file.
